There are some details emerging on the eagerly anticipated second phase of Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF). This scheme will see a further £100m available to stimulate energy efficiency spend across the country
The National Insulation Association (NIA) with other stakeholders have held a discussion with DECC on the scheme, outlining a few of the potential unconfirmed details. The key points from the NIA are summarised below:
- Solid Wall Insulation cash back to be set at £4k maximum but need to consider how much of the property must be done to obtain this and give consideration to differentiated cash back values based on the percentage or square metreage of the property completed.
- Remove the home-movers £500 incentive as is confusing and there has been minimal take up, the money would be better spent on additional measures.
- Preference for adopting a multi measure incentive approach with cashback values set according to the measure as opposed to the previous two measure rule to obtain the £1,000 cashback.
- The importance of adopting a ‘fabric first’ approach with consideration to including loft insulation which is not being picked up on mass through ECO.
- The introduction of a requirement for the householder to obtain and submit a formal quotation for works as a minimum in order to apply for a voucher.
- Consideration of the introduction of an application fee i.e. £100/£250 when applying for a voucher which is offset against the cost of the job if work is undertaken which can be refunded if the job is cancelled for legitimate reasons outside the householders control.
- The need for a more robust quality assurance framework including: formal quotations and technical survey including detailing for SWI at the outset: introduction of independent technical monitoring; mandating issue of wall guarantees; and whilst not specific to GDHIF alone, review of the robustness of the current PAS 2030 certification framework.
An additional £100m of funding with be available from November. This supplements the £120m of proposed funding from April 2015 - 2016, bringing a projected total spend of £190m for that period.
This is a rare piece of good news for the industry and will help regain some business and consumer confidence in the Green Deal scheme as a whole - the full initial DECC announcement is available here.
We are keen to help businesses understand these updates and will keep you informed as any changes are announced.
Kind regards,
Olly Frankland
Business Support Manager
Regen SW
The Innovation Centre, Rennes Drive, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4RN
T: 01392 494399 M: 07895 857227 E: ofrankland@regensw.co.uk
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